Following the success of last year’s inaugural event, several Michelin-starred chefs will again take center stage at Haute Cuisine Bal Harbour 2020 in Florida May 5-9.
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This exclusive event—held at what Bal Harbour Village Mayor Gabriel Groisman describes as the “elevated cultural epicenter for fashion and art”—will welcome six visiting chefs who collectively have been awarded nine Michelin stars. Nearly 300 guests participated in intimate cooking classes and theme-based dinners at last year’s event. The original Haute Cuisine gourmet experience was launched in Switzerland in 2015 and it made its North American debut last year.
What’s Cooking
The event will kick off on May 5 with an invitation-only cocktail reception, where guests will have a chance to meet with the chefs one on one. Incorporating Bal Harbour Village’s love for fashion and art, guests will be able to attend a fashion-themed dinner on May 6, an art-themed meal on May 7 and a design-themed dinner on May 8. Each meal will be spearheaded by three or four of the famed international chefs, six of whom will collaborate on May 9 for the grand finale dinner. During the day, guests can attend up to 16 immersive cooking classes, each led by one of the chefs.
Who’s Cooking
The international stars of the show hail from France, the Netherlands and Switzerland, and most have extensive international culinary backgrounds. Boasting three Michelin stars, Jacques Pourcel specializes in Mediterranean flavors at his restaurant, Le Jardin des Sens, in Montpellier, France. Hailing from Switzerland, Sergi Arola, with two Michelin stars, serves as culinary director at famed tapas bar Eat-Hola Tapas Bar at W Verbier in Bagnes, Switzerland.
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Chef Thierry Drapeau brings flavors he experiences throughout the world to his Michelin-starred Restaurant Thierry Drapeau in Saint-Sulpice-le-Verdon, France. Owner and executive chef of Michelin-starred La Chaumiere hotel-restaurant in Dole, France, Joel Cesari, who is known for sourcing only the finest ingredients from around the world, will also be featured.
Jean-Baptiste Natali—who at the age of 27 was the youngest chef to be awarded a Michelin star for his restaurant, Hostellerie La Montagne—will also participate. Joining the group will be Alain Caron from the Netherlands, who was a judge on MasterChef Holland and is a famed cookbook author with his own restaurant, Cafe Caron, in Amsterdam.
Guests can also expect to be wowed by three of Bal Harbor’s chef ambassadors who will be making their festival debut: Makoto Okuwa, Conrado Tromp and Anthony Le Pape.
Cuisine will be presented at various venues in Bal Harbour Village, including Bal Harbour Shops, The Ritz-Carlton Bal Harbour and The St. Regis Bal Harbour Resort. Tickets for the event went on sale this month. Groups looking to enhance the experience with a hotel stay in Bal Harbour Village can book preferential rates directly at all four Bal Harbour hotels—The St. Regis Bal Harbour Resort, The Ritz-Carlton Bal Harbour, Quarzo Bal Harbour and Sea View Hotel—by mentioning Haute Cuisine.
